Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto wants the conservative country to welcome married LGBTQ community members with open arms.

Last week, the embattled leader introduced a series of initiates aimed at reshaping the Mexican Constitution by giving same-sex couples the right to wed. Nieto's other proposals include adoption rights and allowing transgender people to self-identify on government documents -- such as passports -- based on their gender.

"In our country, there can't be those who have certain rights in some states and others who don't," Nieto said at a recognizing the International Day Against Homophobia. On Twitter, he said constitutional reform is "For an inclusive Mexico that recognizes in diversity, one of its biggest strengths."

Mexico's Supreme Court last year declared that states cannot limit marriage solely to heterosexual couples, though dozens are considering legal action.

Dissenting states have little reason to heed the court's ruling, if only because there is little recourse for their discrimination.

If local lawmakers want to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, they can do so without having to amend existing laws. If they want to turn a same-sex couple away, the couple must seek an injunction from district judges; the Supreme Court then allows the injunction so the marriage can move forward.

LGBTQ Acceptance Across the Americas

Latin American countries are resistant to change, especially social issues that challenge Protestant and Catholic beliefs.

In 2010, Argentina became the first Spanish-speaking country to recognize gay marriage. Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay followed suit years later. In April 2015, Chile passed legislation recognizing same-sex civil unions but fell short of calling it marriage.

They are allowed in just a handful of Mexican states: Chihuahua, Coahuila, Mexico City, Michoacán, and Quintana Roo; Mexico City was the first, back in 2009.

A recent Pew Research Center study found most people in these Central and South American countries still oppose the unions, but they gradually warm to the idea.

About half of Argentinians and Mexicans surveyed supported legislation, compared to 64 percent of Colombians and 45 percent of Brazilians. Younger Mexicans were more accepting of same-sex marriage than their elders, by a 63-to-40-percent margin.

Mexico doesn't house an amalgam of religions like the United States, where gay marriage has been legal nationwide since the Supreme Court decided it is covered under the 14th Amendment.

Conservative lawmakers often cite Biblical teaching and traditional values as reason to disavow marriage equality. Another is in how the U.S. Constitution is interpreted, and whether the Founding Fathers considered it a living document.

Former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz staunchly opposed reform, calling LGBTQ rights "lawless judicial activism" and their sexual preference a "choice."

Just before dropping out of contention, the Texas senator said the American people overwhelmingly support traditional marriage.

"When a fellow like me looks at the landscape and sees the depravity, the perversion - redefining marriage and telling us that marriage is not between a man and a woman? Come on, Iowa," Cruz said during a campaign stop. "It is nonsense. It is evil. It's wicked. It's sinful."

Following Nieto's Lead

Christianity remains the biggest religious group in the U.S., primarily made up of those who identify as either Evangelical Protestant or Catholic. But more and more Americans are taking religion and politics out of same-sex marriage debate. They have openly gay friends, family, and co-workers whose way of life is a non-issue.

Nearly two-thirds of Republican opposed same-sex marriage following last summer's Supreme Court ruling. A Pew survey taken two months ago found 55 percent of Americans support it; a 20-percent jump over the last 15 years.

Preferences varied by political ideology, party affiliation, and by generation gaps. Over 70 percent of millennials approved. The Silent Generation - those born from 1928 to 1945 - gave just 38 percent support, though it is a large increase from 2001.

Nieto's newfound gay marriage advocacy comes amid growing disdain from his constituents. His Institutional Revolution Party does not mirror the American Democratic Party, but it does land somewhere between left and center. The president campaigned on promises to fight internal corruption and quell long-standing drug cartel wars that have claimed countless lives.

He accomplished neither during his first term, yet Nieto had the temerity to presented Congress with same-sex marriage legislation. Nieto's confidence in introducing LGBTQ laws, despite slumping poll numbers, earned widespread support from LGBTQ and human-rights groups and reinvigorated Mexicans wary of his tenure.

If Republican lawmakers can learn anything from Nieto's egalitarian stance, it's that Americans are ready for social change.